The microstructure and methane catalytic combustion of ceria composite materials modified with tourmaline particles

The ceria (CeO2) composite catalysts were prepared by sol-gel method via adding the different amounts and particle sizes of tourmaline particles. The effects of additive tourmaline on the microstructure and methane catalytic combustion of the composite materials were investigated. It was revealed that the CeO2 nanoparticles modified with tourmaline got smaller crystallite size and the composite materials had the higher catalytic activity. As adding 2 wt% of tourmaline particles (mean particle size = 180 nm), the crystallite size of CeO2 nanoparticles reduced to 40.2 ± 0.1% compared with the control; the ignition and complete conversion temperature of methane combustion were successfully lowered to 411 °C and 470 °C, respectively.